Tomorrow’s the big day and the excitement is building! It’s almost six months since the June floods and after a mammoth effort by hundreds of people, the island is once again ready for visitors.

We asked our Facebook friends what they’re most looking forward to when the zoo reopens tomorrow:

This is just a tiny selection of the responses we received; it seems every one of our animals has a fan out there. And then of course there’s ZOOLIGHTS! It’s a highlight of our calendar every year, but given recent events, this year it’s more special than ever. It’s great to know that you’re all as excited as we are.

But remember – even though the island is reopening, there’s still more work to be done. The flooding caused structural damages estimated at $50 million, with another $10 million of estimated operating losses. You can help us in our continuing efforts to rebuild the zoo and as we begin to implement our master plan too – find out how.

Let’s keep the conversation going! What are you most excited to see when the zoo reopens tomorrow? We’d love to hear from you in the comments section below, or on Facebook and Twitter.

(Header photograph by Darren Roberts Photography)

The island is reopening! What are you most looking forward to? August 3rd, 2017Calgary Zoo

As you know, the Calgary Zoo was badly damaged due to the devastating flooding that occurred in southern Alberta in June of 2013. We had to close our doors for close to six weeks to recover and after a lot of hard work, we were excited to partially re-open on July 31.

The recent Bow River flooding swamped the zoo’s 32-acre island, causing extensive damage to the zoo’s buildings and grounds. While we have reopened the northern part of the zoo, restoring the Calgary Zoo completely will take years.

Senior Zookeeper Elaine Willms talks about getting ready to move the Tigers without lights, as the river was beginning to breech the berm.

ABOUT THE BLOG

At the Calgary Zoo, we have endless stories to share about our animals, our people and our conservation work. Whether we are inspiring our visitors to love nature, saving species in western Canada from extinction or working with scientists on the other side of the globe, our ultimate goal is simple: to help wildlife and keep it wild.